Springfield City Council approves nearly $1.8 million for Brookings and Dryden school reconstruction projects

Republican file photo by Mark M. MurrayThe Elias Brookings Elementary School on Hancock Street is shown boarded up days after the June 1, 2011 tornado. The school sustained extensive damage and a new school is planned

SPRINGFIELD – Plans to build a new Elias Brookings School and to renovate and expand Mary A. Dryden Veterans Memorial School moved another step forward last week with the approval of nearly $2 million in pre-construction funds by the City Council.

The council unanimously approved bond orders of $952,391 for Dryden, located on Surrey Road, for construction management services and other pre-construction costs. In addition, it approved $847,258 for Brookings, located on Hancock Street, needed for schematic design work and related costs.

Both bonds orders were submitted for approval by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

“The students, teachers, administrators and parents of both schools have been through so much since last June 1st, and I am so pleased that these two projects are moving forward so quickly,” Rita L. Coppola-Wallace, the city’s director of capital asset construction, said Friday.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted June 6, to authorize both projects to proceed – construction of a new, estimated $28 million school to replace the 87-year-old Brookings School, and $14.4 million for the renovation-expansion project at the Dryden School.

The projects are eligible for both state reimbursement from the state school building authority, and for federal disaster aid reimbursement.

First, any tornado-related costs such as the north wing at Dryden, are eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coppola-Wallace said.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority will then fund 80 percent of eligible school project costs not covered by the federal disaster aid, she said.

The amount of federal disaster funding is not yet finalized.

The renovation-expansion project at Dryden will begin in the fall once bids are received, Coppola-Wallace said. Some advance work that was funded by the council includes environmental abatement and site work, she said.

Brookings will be redesigned to meet all modern codes and educational requirements, including larger classrooms, Coppola-Wallace said. The project remains in the design phase.

“I think it is very important to all those that have been touched by this devastation, but especially the children, that we continue to rebuild, as it teaches these kids a very important lesson,” Coppola-Wallace said. “When something knocks you down, don’t let it keep you down, do whatever it takes to get back on your feet and move forward.”